The student population at University of South Carolina-Columbia is 38,532 (30,187 undergraduate and 8,345 graduate students) . The number of students has increased by 4,808 over the past decade.
The percentage of undergraduate students at South Carolina is 78.34% which is increased by 4,950 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 142 and it has been decreasing.
The female to male ratio is 1.49 to 1 which means that female students enrolled more than male students.
3,519 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 112.12% since 2015.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 35,442 where 38,532 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
78.34% of total students is undergraduate students and 21.66% students is graduate students. The number of undergraduate students has increased by 4,950 and the graduate enrollment has decreased by 142 over past 10 years.
The female to male ratio is 1.49 to 1 and it means that there are more female students enrolled in South Carolina than male students.
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at University of South Carolina-Columbia since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 33,724 | 25,237 | 11,708 | 13,529 | 8,487 | 3,478 | 5,009 |
| 2016-17 | 34,099 375 | 25,556 319 | 11,896 188 | 13,660 131 | 8,543 56 | 3,440 -38 | 5,103 94 |
| 2017-18 | 34,731 632 | 26,362 806 | 12,208 312 | 14,154 494 | 8,369 -174 | 3,274 -166 | 5,095 -8 |
| 2018-19 | 34,795 64 | 26,733 371 | 12,502 294 | 14,231 77 | 8,062 -307 | 3,185 -89 | 4,877 -218 |
| 2019-20 | 35,364 569 | 27,502 769 | 12,751 249 | 14,751 520 | 7,862 -200 | 3,119 -66 | 4,743 -134 |
| 2020-21 | 35,470 106 | 27,271 -231 | 12,612 -139 | 14,659 -92 | 8,199 337 | 3,155 36 | 5,044 301 |
| 2021-22 | 35,471 1 | 26,864 -407 | 12,063 -549 | 14,801 142 | 8,607 408 | 3,217 62 | 5,390 346 |
| 2022-23 | 35,653 182 | 27,343 479 | 11,975 -88 | 15,368 567 | 8,310 -297 | 3,095 -122 | 5,215 -175 |
| 2023-24 | 36,579 926 | 28,470 1,127 | 12,021 46 | 16,449 1,081 | 8,109 -201 | 2,972 -123 | 5,137 -78 |
| 2024-25 | 38,532 1,953 | 30,187 1,717 | 12,341 320 | 17,846 1,397 | 8,345 236 | 3,125 153 | 5,220 83 |
| Average | 35,442 | 27,153 | 12,208 | 14,945 | 8,289 | 3,206 | 5,083 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 27,153 where 30,187 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at University of South Carolina-Columbia since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 25,237 | 23,613 | 10,824 | 12,789 | 1,624 | 884 | 740 |
| 2016-17 | 25,556 | 24,382 | 11,285 | 13,097 | 1,174 | 611 | 563 |
| 2017-18 | 26,362 | 25,243 | 11,614 | 13,629 | 1,119 | 594 | 525 |
| 2018-19 | 26,733 | 25,633 | 11,945 | 13,688 | 1,100 | 557 | 543 |
| 2019-20 | 27,502 | 26,400 | 12,175 | 14,225 | 1,102 | 576 | 526 |
| 2020-21 | 27,271 | 26,174 | 12,009 | 14,165 | 1,097 | 603 | 494 |
| 2021-22 | 26,864 | 25,634 | 11,416 | 14,218 | 1,230 | 647 | 583 |
| 2022-23 | 27,343 | 26,242 | 11,394 | 14,848 | 1,101 | 581 | 520 |
| 2023-24 | 28,470 | 27,430 | 11,462 | 15,968 | 1,040 | 559 | 481 |
| 2024-25 | 30,187 | 29,197 | 11,826 | 17,371 | 990 | 515 | 475 |
| Average | 27,153 | 27,153 | 11,595 | 14,400 | 27,153 | 613 | 545 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 8,289 where 8,345 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at University of South Carolina-Columbia since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 8,487 | 5,828 | 2,589 | 3,239 | 2,659 | 889 | 1,770 |
| 2016-17 | 8,543 | 5,889 | 2,572 | 3,317 | 2,654 | 868 | 1,786 |
| 2017-18 | 8,369 | 5,828 | 2,513 | 3,315 | 2,541 | 761 | 1,780 |
| 2018-19 | 8,062 | 5,637 | 2,467 | 3,170 | 2,425 | 718 | 1,707 |
| 2019-20 | 7,862 | 5,414 | 2,388 | 3,026 | 2,448 | 731 | 1,717 |
| 2020-21 | 8,199 | 5,630 | 2,432 | 3,198 | 2,569 | 723 | 1,846 |
| 2021-22 | 8,607 | 5,941 | 2,466 | 3,475 | 2,666 | 751 | 1,915 |
| 2022-23 | 8,310 | 5,699 | 2,345 | 3,354 | 2,611 | 750 | 1,861 |
| 2023-24 | 8,109 | 5,126 | 2,094 | 3,032 | 2,983 | 878 | 2,105 |
| 2024-25 | 8,345 | 5,696 | 2,405 | 3,291 | 2,649 | 720 | 1,929 |
| Average | 8,289 | 8,289 | 2,427 | 3,242 | 8,289 | 779 | 1,842 |
The percentage of white students is 68.86%. The percentage was 73.79% 10 years ago and South Carolina still has a high percentage of white students. 4.06% of enrolled students is Asian and 10.43% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 6.29% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 73.79% to 68.86%. Asian enrollment grew from 2.80% to 4.06%. Black student enrollment increased from 10.06% to 10.43%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 3.95% to 6.29%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.5077 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This increased from 0.4419 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at University of South Carolina-Columbia over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 73 | 945 | 3,392 | 1,332 | 34 | 24,886 | 1,104 |
| 2016-17 | 62 | 953 | 3,305 | 1,367 | 37 | 25,088 | 1,125 |
| 2017-18 | 62 | 1,027 | 3,264 | 1,481 | 35 | 25,489 | 1,169 |
| 2018-19 | 60 | 1,058 | 3,167 | 1,497 | 35 | 25,537 | 1,206 |
| 2019-20 | 61 | 1,158 | 3,116 | 1,647 | 28 | 25,748 | 1,300 |
| 2020-21 | 68 | 1,279 | 3,389 | 1,742 | 26 | 25,560 | 1,380 |
| 2021-22 | 58 | 1,382 | 3,413 | 1,811 | 33 | 25,141 | 1,400 |
| 2022-23 | 53 | 1,439 | 3,576 | 1,917 | 23 | 24,827 | 1,411 |
| 2023-24 | 45 | 1,526 | 3,689 | 2,057 | 25 | 25,491 | 1,451 |
| 2024-25 | 57 | 1,566 | 4,019 | 2,423 | 24 | 26,532 | 1,582 |
| Average | 60 | 1,233 | 3,433 | 1,727 | 30 | 25,430 | 1,313 |
3,519 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 9% of total students. The number of online students has increased 112.12% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at University of South Carolina-Columbia from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 33,724 | 1,659 | 5,435 | 26,630 |
| 2016-17 | 34,099 | 1,648 | 6,746 | 25,705 |
| 2017-18 | 34,731 | 1,476 | 7,252 | 26,003 |
| 2018-19 | 34,795 | 1,609 | 8,099 | 25,087 |
| 2019-20 | 35,364 | 1,916 | 9,397 | 24,051 |
| 2020-21 | 35,470 | 17,648 | 15,444 | 2,378 |
| 2021-22 | 35,471 | 3,416 | 16,608 | 15,447 |
| 2022-23 | 35,653 | 3,171 | 18,584 | 13,898 |
| 2023-24 | 36,579 | 3,068 | 19,817 | 13,694 |
| 2024-25 | 38,532 | 3,519 | 21,675 | 13,338 |
| Average | 35,442 | 3,913 | 12,906 | 18,623 |
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